HowToFixComputers.com

Steven Goldstein · Guest

I have seen postings that the PCI slots on the Intel motherboard are
1.0 compliant. I also have literature from Gateway that this
motherboard's slots are PCI 2.1 compliant.

Was there are manufacturing change along the way? I am asking as I
want to install a more up-to-date video card in the machine than the
present Matrox/MGA Ultima/Impression card. I tried an eVGA MX440 card
which is PCI 2.2, but the card was not recognized by the machine. On
the other hand, I have a 3Com 3C905B network interface card running
just fine in the computer, so I assume that the PCI slots really are
2.1 compliant.

I would also want to see if wireless networking would work with the
machine. However, most PCI 802.11b adapters specify PCI 2.2 or just
indicate PCI. Does anyone have an idea what card might work in this
computer?

Thanks,

Steve

Edward J. Neth · Guest

They are officially PCI 2.0, but work with most PCI 2.1 cards.

"Steven Goldstein" <sgoldstn@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:f303c1b0.0312010533.1be46610@posting.google.com...

Ben Myers · Guest

Steve,

The Plato motherboard uses the Intel 430NX chipset, the very earliest Intel
chipset for Socket 5 or Socket 7 Pentium systems. The board is definitely not
PCI 2.1 compliant. It is either PCI 2.0 or PCI 1.-something. As a result,
installation of PCI cards is hit-or-miss, and depends greatly on the engineering
at the companies that design the cards.

3COM 3C905 cards are backward compatible probably to the earliest PCI
specification, so you were able to install one without any problem. Same with
Intel network cards, most PCI modems, and Creative Labs sound cards.

Graphics cards are horses of another color. I've had good results with Matrox
and ATI PCI cards on older motherboards. Both companies designed PCI cards for
the mainstream and made their cards compatible with the early PCI specs.
Smaller companies don't have the resources to provide compatibility all the way
back. Pacific Rim manufacturers of cards generally shortcut just about
everything to get a card onto the market, including documentation, tech support,
and backward compatibility. The newest PCI graphics cards, which are now at
least two years old, often sacrifice backward compatibility, to push the
envelope of performance as far as possible. I think you would have the greatest
odds of success with a not-too-new Matrox or ATI card.

As far as 802.11b goes, I would opt for a PCI card with a PCMCIA slot, plugging
a PCMCIA Wifi card in. It seems a little more complicated, but similar
reasoning applies. The newer PCI 802.11b cards (and nearly all of them are
"newer") were not tested for compatibility with older motherboards.

Finally, the little black brick-shaped Dallas DS12887 CMOS/clock/battery chip is
soldered onto the Plato board. The life of one of these chips, as predicted by
Dallas, is 8 to 10 years. Your Plato board may be nearing its expiration date,
when its DS12887 stops working correctly... Ben Myers

On 1 Dec 2003 05:33:54 -0800, sgoldstn@ix.netcom.com (Steven Goldstein) wrote:

Steven Goldstein · Guest

ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message news:<3fcba330.2241560@news.charter.net>...

Ed and Ben,

Thanks for your responses.

I had post a follow-up to the comp.os.ms-windows.networking.misc
newsgroup.

I have attempted to install a Linksys WMP54G wireless card (802.11g)in
the computer along with the 3COM NIC.
The slots on the motherboard are slot 1 (left, shared with ISA), slot
2 (middle), and slot 3 (right). All of the following are with the
Matrox Ultima/Impression video card in slot 2.
If the 3COM card is in slot 3 and I attempt to place the Linksys card
in slot 1, the computer will not boot. If I remove the 3COM card from
Windows and also physically, the Linksys card will install properly
when placed in slot 3. If I then attempt to place the 3COM card in
slot 1, then computer attempts to load Windows but finally fails with
a system halted message due to "memory parity error detected."

I have not yet attempted to see whether I can successfully move the
Matrox video card from slot 2 to slot 1 (the shared position).
Previously, I had used the shared position for an ISA-based modem
card. This card was moved to a free ISA slot, not shared. At least I
know that the ISA slot at the shared slot position worked.

Does this information provide any clues, or is this a loosing battle?

Steve

Ben Myers · Guest

Steve,

All you can do is try the Matrox card in another slot to see if you can find a
working combination of PCI cards. I'm not too optimistic. Because the Plato
board is one of the earliest, there may be some issues with the installation of
three PCI cards.

The odds of succeeding with the combination of Matrox, 3COM and Linksys cards
would be much higher with a newer motherboard. However, installing a new
motherboard entails a lot of work, especially in rejiggering the operating
system to work properly with the chipsets on a replacement motherboard. It all
depends on how much more time you want to put into this project. The cost of a
replacement motherboard would be peanuts... Ben Myers

On 2 Dec 2003 04:15:57 -0800, sgoldstn@ix.netcom.com (Steven Goldstein) wrote:

Steven Goldstein · Guest

Ben, you are absolutely correct. I was just going to post to the group that
I had now tried the three cards in all combinations. While the Matrox and
3Com or the Matrox and the Linksys cards can co-exist, a tripartite
arrangementdoes not appear possible. I moved each of the cards to each of
the three positions (took some time) and proved to myself that it is notthe
position but the combination that is the problem.

I would not mind reinstalling the OS, etc. In fact, I just did that last
weekend as the machine had developed some bad habits over time. The reload
helped (actually I learned that Office 97 was where the computer maxed out
in its functional utility), but it is probably not worth the investment in
mobo, cpu, and RAM to make it all work. Or, is it?

Steve
<ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote in message
news:3fccb6e7.1325375@news.charter.net...

Ben Myers · Guest

Steve,

Unless you have lots of time on your hands, it's probably not worth doing a
motherboard swap. With new Dells and other brands priced in the $400 range
brand new, starting with an entire computer, new or used, and putting in the
WiFi seems to make more sense. This is especially true given that the computer
does not have any of your personal valuable data on it any more.

One other thought occured to me today, amidst the blizzard of memory upgrades I
have been doing for clients here locally. How much memory does the system have?
But, then, I doubt that a realtive lack of memory would cause three cards to
malfunction when installed together.

If you want to try with another motherboard, I'll see what I have here. I once
sold lots of replacements for Gateways, but I now do very little with baby-AT
motherboards. Still, there are a few around here, and one may be suitable,
packaged with 128MB of memory (if you're not there already), and a faster CPU
than the Plato can handle. REASONABLE prices & exact shipping, as this stuff
has more sentimental than tangible value anymore... Ben Myers

On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 01:36:42 GMT, "Steven Goldstein" <sgoldstn@ix.netcom.com>
wrote:

Steven Goldstein · Guest

There is 80 MB of RAM installed on the computer, I believe as 32-32-8-8.

Steve

Ben Myers wrote:

Ben Myers · Guest

Steve,

FWIW, the Plato was designed to use fast-page mode memory, not the more common
and newer EDO. A pair of 32's in place of the 8's would help the system perform
better, but they are pretty hard to find... Ben

On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 10:46:08 GMT, Steven Goldstein <sgoldstn@ix.netcom.com>
wrote: